| Published Tuesday, February 2, 2021
People must wait for a date to get the vaccine against covid-19
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The National Vaccination Commission confirmed that people must wait for a call by workers from the community clinic, known as Ebais, to set a date to receive the covid-19 vaccine.
People called will be designated a specific date since health authorities aren't developing mass vaccination campaigns.
According to the Ministry of Health, 80% of the vaccines purchased will be dispersed to local Ebais clinics throughout the country. The remaining 20% will be distributed among other public organizations that employ health workers, members of the police force, firefighters and National Commission Emergency workers.
The goal for this month is to finish giving those selected their first dose and second doses for the people who have received the first doses since December.
After completing the vaccination of the first group, the second group of people selected by the authorities will begin getting vaccinated. The one’s in this second group are those over the age of 58, regardless of whether or not they have any risk factors. To receive the treatment, participants must have a Costa Rican ID for natives or a residency ID, known as DIMEX specific for immigrants with resident status.
However, goals for reaching a number of people vaccinated depend on the number of doses that arrive each week in the country, Social Security said in its statement.
Once the first group is completed, the second will immediately follow. Social Security calls on people who qualify to visit the local public clinic, Ebais, to register with the second group.
In the case of the people who are already registered in the Social Security database, known as EDUS, they will be contacted by phone to establish the vaccine date.
According to specialists, the vaccine against covid-19 has been shown to have protective effectiveness greater than 90%.
From Dec. 2020 to Jan. 29, there have been 57,701 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine used, Social Security said. The treatment was applied to 48,833 first responder's and 8,868 to workers and residents of nursing homes. Of the total of people vaccinated, 11,818 have received the second dose against covid.
While the vaccination campaign advances, authorities from the Ministry of Health reported on Monday the most updated status of the covid-19 public health crisis in the country:
• 289 new covid-19 cases are reported, bringing the total to 38,872 current active cases.
• 24,099 foreign-born people have been infected, totaling 194,569 cases since March, approximately 12.38% of the total cases. Of these, authorities confirmed the death of 32 foreign-born patients. But since October, there is no updated information about foreign-born deaths due to covid-19.
• 426 patients are being treated in public hospitals, where 180 patients are in ICU’s in delicate health conditions. Their ages range from 1 to 92-years-old. And 246 patients are in recovery rooms. Many of the remaining infected patients are quarantined in their homes.
• 153,063 patients have fully recovered, a 78.7% recovery rate of the total cases since March.
• 595,057 covid-19 tests have been conducted in Costa Rica since March, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering of Johns Hopkins University in the U.S.
• 2,634 deaths are listed as covid-19 related, approximately 1.3% death rate. Of these 991 are women and 1,643 men. The ages range from a 2-year-old to a 101-year-old.
Readers can see the current number of infected people in each district at the National Distance Education University on its Covid-19 Map.
According to Johns Hopkins University, the pandemic has killed more than 2.2 million people worldwide.
------------------- How could health authorities speed up the vaccination campaign against covid-19? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com
|